Chapter
Nine

Sisters,
Guess What?

Shampoo parked her car back at the Kappa Alpha Omicron
house. She slowly but steadily stepped out of the door and walked through the
unlocked back door. Her legs and thighs ached from the feeling of Lisa within
her. Shampoo quietly creaked her way up the stairs and back to her room.

She creaked into the
dark room and quickly unwrapped her linen blankets. She flopped her weary body
onto the bed, still wearing the clothes that she hastily put on, from Lisa’s
place. Shampoo tried to fall asleep but another blanket fluffing revealed that
Ling had woken up.

“You’re back late
again!” Ling muttered. “You don’t take this long most of the time. Did you guys
have sex?”

“It’s over between Ben
and me,” Shampoo looked down and tried to fain sadness.

Ling believed her.
“Don’t worry, Shamps,” she said comfortingly, “You’ll get over with him with a
brand new man.” She then pulled her covers back and fell asleep. Shampoo
decided it wasn’t the right time to tell Ling about the new person in her life.
She fumbled with her cotton sheets and wrapped her aching body.

Shampoo woke up to a mild migraine.
After crawling out of bed, she turned on her computer and logged onto her
Berkeley e-mail account. She had several new messages, mostly penis
enlargements. However an e-mail entitled “Newspaper reporter” drew her
interest. And she clicked to see

Hi. My name is Edna
and I’m a reporter for The Daily Caifornian. I’m doing a story on the sorority
and I would really appreciate it if you can contact me at this number
415-721-9897. Thank you for your time.

As Shampoo was about to respond, another pop-up window appeared.
“SECRET MEETING RIGHT NOW IN THE LIVING ROOM!” read a blaring loud e-mail that
every single KAO girl received from May Yim. Shampoo threw on her light pink
pajamas and her fluffy pink bunny slippers and ran down the stairs.

The girls were already gathered there. They were all sleepy-eyed
and wearing cute pajamas similar to Shampoo’s. The women all turned around and
looked directly at Shampoo. Shampoo shrugged and sat down. May Yim looked
pissed and her hands were on her hips. She was wearing a very sexy red negligee
that revealed her curvy and beautiful feminine body. She held the latest issue
of The Daily Californian in her hand.

“Sisters,” May Yim squeaked angrily. “The homosexual community has
declared war on our morals and our
values by using the media as a weapon!” May Yim furiously flipped through the
newspaper. A writer named Matthew Tom had covered the lesbian incident at the
sorority and it was front page, both the story and an angry picture of May Yim
shooting down the lesbians with a hose in graphic detail. What had gotten May
Yim most infuriated at the newspaper was an editorial piece on the incident.
May Yim read it out loud:

If Kappa Alpha Omicron is allowed
to get away with preventing interested members of Berkeley’s queer community
from attending the prom that most members have been denied to for generations,
then what else can this sorority get away with?” May Yim read to the girls: “The
Greek system, as one of the oldest standing and conservative collegiate factor
of the university, needs to be reformed in order to reflect the diversity that
is U.C. Berkeley.

Shampoo quietly agreed with the
editorial. Finally the newspaper had published something that was
important.Unfortunately her sisters
were thinking opposite as the shocked look of the young women replaced fierce
rage.

“How dare the newspaper question our
sorority’s traditional ideals?!” May Yim said angrily. “We were established in
1975 as Berkeley’s prime Asian American Christian sorority to hold the morals
of God in a community that is becoming so corrupt. Our job is to protect
innocent Asian American women from the savages of sexual exploitation and
corruption!”

“Perhaps we should respond…” Candice
Tokugawa started to say

“NO!” May Yim shouted. “That’s
exactly what they want us to say. They want to see that our sorority does not
support the morally perverse when the rest of society does. The best thing to
do is to keep silent about the issue until the prom is over. It will eventually
die down as the newspaper chases other potential stories.”

May Yim then flapped a sheet of
paper in front of the girls. “A reporter from the newspaper has been sending
all of us an e-mail and asking to chat with us. The most important thing for us
to do now as sisters is to stand together.”

“That’s right!” squeaked a rush
girl. Shampoo could feel May Yim’s voice all the way down to her bunny
slippers.

“ I will send an e-mail to her that the sorority fully supports
its actions.” May Yim started to say. “But I will need the support of my
sisters and we are going to have to take drastic measures in order to address
this particular issue.”

The other women nodded. Shampoo
gulped.

“I am going to enact our code of
silence,” May Yim said, “It is the highest code of the sorority. You are not
allowed to discuss this issue with each other or the press. Any leaks that
there could be possible division within this sorority could destroy its
reputation. Any sister who betrays our highest code will be asked to leave the
sorority house immediately!”

Every single sister raised her hand.
Shampoo quickly looked around and then, feeling slightly defeated, raised her
hand.

“Then it’s settled,” May Yim said.
“The code of silence pertaining to this issue will be active as of right now.”
Then she screamed, “Meeting dismissed!”

The other women with their long brown hair and long legs got up
and walked out of the room. Shampoo started to walk and tried to follow Ling
out but May Yim had blockaded her.

“I saw your reluctance,” May Yim
sneered at Shampoo. “Don’t do anything stupid, Shampoo. You won’t be welcomed
back into the warm comforts of the sorority again. I do not want to throw you
out but if you leave me no choice, then may God have mercy on your soul.”

May Yim walked out of the room.
Shampoo didn’t even want to check out May Yim’s backside this time. She was too
furious with anger.

Talking to Lisa about what had
happened didn’t help Shampoo’s cause. Lisa was furious and exhumed her
womyn-speak-lesbian-activist-warrior attitude. Shampoo hid behind her pineapple-flavored
tapioca drink. “That bitch,” Lisa started, her fist clenched in anger. “Corrupt
values, my ass. The only one that is corrupt is her and any of those mindless
drones who believe in the bullshit that she is causing.”

“I’m one of those mindless drones,”
Shampoo said meekly. It was too pleasant of a day to be ruined by sapphic
drama. A fountain dribbled water in the background as fellow Berkeley-ites
walked to and fro. Shampoo wanted to enjoy the little time that she had with
Lisa before she had to go to her karate class.

“You don’t!” Lisa exclaimed. She
held Shampoo’s hands. “If you reveal that, it could destroy the sorority! That
sorority is known for being firm in its conservative ideals but if they kick
you out for being a lesbian, it will destroy the reputation of the sorority in
the overall Berkeley community!”

Shampoo looked at Lisa. “That
sorority is my life,” she said, “as much as I want to help you. Those girls
helped me out when I first came to the United States. Where was your queer
community when I needed them, then?”

“I would’ve grabbed your hot ass
when you were a freshman if I knew you were here,” Lisa said. “But it’s your
decision.” She quickly pecked Shampoo on the cheek, symbolizing that she was
trying to change the subject as fast as possible. But it was too late. She had
thrown the ball into Shampoo’s court and those medicine balls hurt really
badly.

Shampoo couldn’t focus on her katas.
She took a deep breath and raised her arms like a praying mantis. She leaped
high into the hair and felt the Japanese breeze behind her. She raised her leg
up in the air. The next sensation she felt was her face landing on the hard
mat.

Sensei Hayakawa walked into the dojo. “Ah, Shampoo,” she started
to say, “You’re early.” Shampoo quickly got up and bowed.

“You’re normally very good at the rainbow kick,” Hayakawa said.
She then demonstrated the proper rainbow kick and lept in the air, swung her leg
in the curve of a rainbow and landed down with the gentleness of a feather.
“Shampoo, I know when you aren’t feeling well. If you are sick, you should go
home.”

Shampoo looked at her sensei. “Let’s suppose I know that there is
something I can do to help ease the pain of someone but that would mean risking
everything that I have.”

“What exactly are you risking?” Sensei Hayakawa looked at her.

“My current existence,” Shampoo said. “My home, my supposed
friends, everything that I fought for to stay here in the States. But I feel
like there’s something more out there to explore, you know?” She tried to
remain as cryptic as possible.

“Well,” Hayakawa responded, “let me put it to you this way. Are
you happy in your current existence with everything that you have?” Shampoo
shook her head. “Not like I used to,” she sighed as she looked up to the
ceiling.

“People change and times change,” Hayakawa put a comforting hand
on Shampoo’s back. “But the people who care about who you are, who you truly
are, will always be there for you. Now, if your sorority can’t support aspects
of your lifestyle, then you do not need to take it.” Shampoo looked up and
Hayakawa had a resolving smile. She knew…

“You need to fight for what you love,” said Hayakawa, who seemed
to recognize the situation Shampoo was in. “You know what is the right thing to
do in this situation.” She got up and walked to the back of the dojo and
prepare for the next class.

Shampoo fumbled once again with the tapioca drink. She was sitting
in the patio outside of Q-Cup and tapping her foot impatiently…and nervously.
She had ordered a calming taro tapioca drink and sipped the purple liquid. She
could hear the Dance Dance Revolution music playing in the background.

“Are you Shampoo?” the young reporter asked. She was a cute blonde
girl with short hair styled very wavy. She wore a jean jacket, a white tank top
and a green tie. She was pretty hot for a reporter.

“Yes,” Shampoo said nervously. She quickly drew another tapioca
ball into her mouth. “Let’s get this over with.” Edna sat down and pulled out a
white notebook. Shampoo could hear the notebook land on the table.

“Your sorority has excluded a large community from the prom simply
because of their sexuality,” the reporter said. “It seems that the unanimous
opinion is that your sorority supports this policy. What is your personal
opinion about this?”

Shampoo took a deep breath. “I
disapprove of what my sorority is doing,” Shampoo said. “They have no right to
deny any person the right to enjoy prom simply because they like a person of
the same-sex.”

The interview continued. Shampoo was
shocked about how much she was revealing about the homophobia within her
sorority. She even told Edna about the code of silence that May Yim had made
the women undertake.

“This means a lot to me,” Edna said.
“This is my first story for the newspaper and I hope I will do a good job.”
Shampoo smiled weakly.

Shampoo knew that it was imminent.
When the newspaper hit the floor at Kappa Alpha Omicron, the story was on the
front page- Same-Sex Controversy divides Christian Sorority. All she
could wait for is the bomb to drop as she got out of her bed. Nothing happened.
She decided to go downstairs to eat breakfast. Shampoo had finished eating
breakfast by herself when May Yim walked in and slammed the paper down on the
table. “I have asked the girls to leave the house today so I can talk to you,”
she said deceptively-sweetly.

“I warned you,” May Yim spat at
Shampoo. “Doesn’t this sorority mean anything to you? You swore on this oath that
you would not say anything about this issue.”

“Well,” Shampoo said, “A little bird
told me that love is worth fighting for. Even if it is a kind of love that you
can’t respect or tolerate.”

“This is the last straw Shampoo,” May
Yim said. “I’ve talked with the board and we have no choice but to…terminate
your membership in the sorority immediately.”

“Are you going to kick me out for
being a lesbian?” Shampoo said coolly. If May Yim did so, then the sorority
would be much more screwed than it currently is.

“You think I’m that stupid?” May Yim
snickered. “As if we need more bad publicity. I’m kicking you out because you
told someone else about our confidential meeting. And that is what the press
will know if they have any questions about your absence from the sorority.”

“You have 24 hours to completely
vacate the premesis,” May Yim grinned. “I wish you good luck and may God have
mercy on your soul, you pervert.”

Shampoo put the last of her clothing
in her pink suitcase. She would have to get her computer and the other high
tech products later once she had established a new place. Unfortunately, she
had no idea where that new place was going to be. Shampoo looked around her
room. Ling’s side was as cluttered up as before but Shampoo’s side was pure
pink and felt completely empty.

Shampoo had to bow her head slightly
in shame. No girl had ever been kicked out from the sorority before. Well, that
was a lie. Five years ago, a girl named Katy Yang was kicked out for being
promiscuous and impure. It wasn’t because she was a slut. It was because she
got caught. And May Yim didn’t like her anyways.

She dragged her suitcase down the
staircase one last time. As she leaned towards the living room, she noticed
that every single girl was standing to greet her. Of course May Yim was there
with her devilish smile.

“Due to unfortunate circumstances
beyond our control,” May Yim told the group, “Shampoo Chen will be leaving our
sorority and we will miss her terribly.” It sounded more like a funeral than a
farewell. “We just wanted to say good bye to our sister and to let you know
that there are no hard feelings.”

“No hard feelings my ass,” Shampoo
got really snappy and threw her pink suitcase down. “If this is your way of
trying to cover-up all the bullshit that you have put me through, it isn’t working.”
May Yim tried to smile as sweetly as possible. “Oh Shampoo,” she said. “Watch
your tongue because I know how often it gets you into trouble.”

“I’m just relieved that I am leaving
this sorority,” Shampoo continued. “Your stuffy rules and everything had made
it so uncomfortable for me. I felt like I had to live two lives, one under
myself and one under your God. But I’m sick of it and to all of you, my
supposed friends, I say fuck you for everything you have done for me.”

“By the way,” Shampoo added. She
grabbed one of the nearest girls and kissed her on the lips. Then she threw her
back on the sofa to the shock of May Yim. Ling looked at Shampoo with a grin
and some of the other women gasped in complete shock. “I’m a lesbian!”

Shampoo opened wide the white doors
of the sorority, feeling the bright sunlight pour on her face. It was liberating
and temporary. A bitter wind slapped Shampoo on the face as she dragged her
pink suitcase across the dirty sidewalk.